Knock for iPhone now lets you lock as well as unlock your Mac via Bluetooth
The Mac-unlocking utility app Knock has just received its first major update.
Knock lets you unlock your Mac simply by knocking twice on your iPhone. It works via a Bluetooth LE (low energy) connection between Mac and iPhone, which also ensures that no significant battery drain is caused on the latter.
Knock received its first update shortly after its launch in November last year, thereby gaining several minor improvements. It then received another minor update in December, which introduced a new feature for showing which Mac and account are currently paired.
Now, the first major update to Knock has come a-knockin’. Most notably, it adds support for locking your Mac with Knock, in addition to the app’s core Mac-unlocking functionality. Just tap on your computer in the app to lock it remotely, as when you’re across the room from your Mac.
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The new update also delivers reliability improvements, including ones that make Knock better at detecting knocks when your iPhone is lying flat. Moreover, it fixes a bug that causes Knock to crash and another that restricts the app from going beyond the Bluetooth permission screen on iOS 8.
The new version of Knock also features full resolution support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Optimized for iPhone 4S, 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus running iOS 7.0 or later, Knock is available on the App Store for $3.99. It’s compatible with the 2011 MacBook Air, the 2012 MacBook Pro, the late 2012 iMac, the 2011 Mac mini, and the late 2013 Mac Pro or newer.
Knock was hailed as AppAdvice’s App of the Week shortly after its release.
For more information on Knock, check out our original review here on AppAdvice, which concludes, “If you’re tired of always typing in your password for your computer (this does get tiring if you always end up away from the keyboard for a while) and want an easier way of doing things, then make sure to check out Knock.”
See also: Manual, a powerful camera app designed for iOS 8, receives its first big update, Fantastical 2 for iPhone updated with a new feature to the Notification Center widget, and Instapaper updated with significantly improved share extension in iOS 8.